Cambridgeshire and Peterborough deputy mayor removed

Labour mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Nik Johnson declined to comment on the removal of his deputy

The deputy mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has said he has been removed from office.

Conservative councillor Wayne Fitzgerald said the action was taken by the authority's Labour Mayor Nik Johnson and came via email early on Thursday.

He said he was told it was with "immediate effect".

Mr Johnson and the CPCA declined to comment.

Mr Fitzgerald described the decision as "divisive and disgraceful", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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The move came ahead of an extraordinary meeting of the authority on Friday to discuss a motion that had demanded the resignation of Mr Johnson.

Mr Fitzgerald was one of five Conservative movers of the motion and, as a deputy mayor, would have been expected to chair the meeting.

He would also have been able to cast any deciding vote in the decision making process.

Mr Fitzgerald's removal comes amid an ongoing row among CPCA members following the recent resignation of its chief executive Eileen Milner and Austen Adams, chair of the CPCA Business Board.